An ugly rift in Newcastle's City and Suburban cricket competition has deteriorated further after treasurer Dave Crawford resigned over a lack of transparency in the board's finances.
Mr Crawford has served on the NCSCA board for seven years across two stints and took on the treasurer's role in August.
He sent an email to fellow directors on Saturday announcing his resignation and explaining his "great frustration and regret".
"I nominated and took on the role as I wished to improve the processes and transparency of how the finances in the NCSCA were being managed, to ensure the future growth and development of cricket in the lower Hunter area," he wrote.
"However, the refusal from a number of members of our Board to work beyond personal issues for the betterment of cricket has taken its toll. I have tried tirelessly, and as civilly and respectfully as possible, to negotiate and manage a way through this situation.
" ... I can admit I have failed in being able to achieve this and that it needs someone with far more time and skill than I to sort out this situation."
Mr Crawford is the third person to exit the board after Roy Capitao was banned for two years in August for allegedly trying to access and share details of directors' fuel allowances and secretary Andrew Kelly received a five-year ban for using a false name to try to access information about the association's Bunnings account.
Director Grant Hutchings and registrar Daniel Saunders were cited to face misconduct charges at the NCSCA judiciary on Sunday after allegedly making disparaging comments in a private Facebook chat in March.
The outcome of those hearings was unknown on Sunday evening, though both men were expecting to receive life bans. Mr Saunders' account on the MyCricket administration page had been deleted on Sunday morning, hours before his hearing.
Mr Hutchings, Mr Saunders and Mr Kelly all won places on the board in August in an attempt to shed light on its finances, which had not been audited since 2004.
The Newcastle Herald reported last month that the new board members felt they were being targeted for asking questions about NCSCA's spending, something president Phil Northey denied.
Mr Saunders, who is away on holidays and did not face his hearing in person, said on Sunday that the new directors were ready to "die on this hill" and would appeal against their bans to Newcastle Cricket Zone and Cricket NSW if necessary.
He said they would also urge clubs to pass a vote of no confidence in the board and hold a fresh election.
The Herald contacted Mr Northey for comment.
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